31 Dec Up to 10 Chaffinches of both sexes in Montpelier Park this morning,
together with Blue Tits, a Pied Wagtail, a couple of Blackbirds and 2 Grey
Squirrels.
Additional species in St Pauls Park included a confiding Goldfinch and a couple
of Greenfinches.
A Blackcap was calling in the garden at dawn, also a Great
Tit and 3 Woodpigeons in the garden
28 Dec A frosty and sunny
morning. One Redwing was still in Fairlawn Road and another flew over Narroways - also 5 flew over Cotham
at lunchtime. At the station a female Blackcap was showing well, also a Jay flew over and
a Grey Squirrel was near the feeders. Two Goldfinches were at Narroways, also fly-over Greenfinch
and Chaffinch there and a party or two of Long-tailed Tits. A singing Dunnock
was in a garden in Sussex Place and Blue and Great Tits were frequenting a birdfeeder in
Cobourg Road.
Another Bumblebee was out and about at Narroways despite the chilly temperature!
27 Dec A wander round the patch on a rather gloomy afternoon produced 2 Redwings
in the tree next to the footbridge at Fairlawn Road. At St Andrews Park a Mistle Thrush was in full song, a
Jackdaw called overhead and several Greenfinches and a Goldfinch or
two were flying around. Two Jays flew over the garden this morning.
| | Redwing |
26 Dec Species
seen and heard around the patch today:
Redwing 2 over Richmond Road, 3 at Fairlawn Road
Magpie
an impressive count of at least 10 birds in and around a tree near the station
Jay 1 at Fairlawn
Road, 1 at St Andrews Park
Coal Tit 1 at Balmoral Road, 2 in St Andrews Park
Pied Wagtail
1 over Station Road, 2 at St Andrews Park
Chaffinch 1 or 2 over Fairlawn Road
Greenfinch
1 at Ashley Hill, a few in St Andrews Park
Great Tit 2 in the garden, several around the patch
Long
Tailed Tit good numbers at Fairlawn/Hurlingham Road and Richmond Road
Blue Tit several
in garden and around the patch
Robin 1 in garden, 1 Fairlawn Road, 4 at the station
Collared
Dove 2 at station
Woodpigeon several around the patch and in the garden
Starling
1 at Old Ashley Hill, several at St Andrews Park
Wren 1 at Old Ashley Hill, 2 at station
Herring
Gull flock of 7 over St Andrews Road
Blackbird 1 in garden, several around the patch
Carrion Crow 3 in garden and several around the patch
A dead Brown Rat
was in Station Road - I took a photo but it didn't get past the censor I'm afraid - rather gruesome! It
looked like a chunk had been bitten out of its hind quarters.
25 Dec In the garden
this morning the female Blackcap was eating ivy berries in the sunshine. Also a couple of Great Tits,
5 Blue Tits, a few Woodpigeons, a Feral Pigeon and a Blackbird
in the garden.
A Pied Wagtail was running along the pavement in Cheltenham Road at lunchtime.
24 Dec Much more bird activity this morning - 8 Redwings flew NW over Station Road,
while a Dunnock posed conspicuously in a bush. A Blackbird sang briefly and I was delighted
to see 'Patch', the male Blackbird with leucistic feathering around his cheek, perched on the building at the station
- he has been around at least two years now which is amazing when you think how many cats and Sparrowhawks there are in Montpelier!
Incidentally, there were about 6 Blackbirds around the station altogether, along with a Wren, 4 Robins
(one showing very well) and half a dozen female Chaffinches.
23 Dec Only a Jay, 2
Collared Doves and a Grey Squirrel to report at the station this morning.
22 Dec Despite the snowy weather which can usually be relied upon to bring some interesting birds, there was little
to report at the station this morning other than Blue Tits, a Dunnock and a singing Robin.
Must try harder.
| | Starlings |
20 Dec Despite
the cold conditions, the sun brought out a Bumblebee in a Richmond Road garden at lunchtime - it was either
a Buff-tailed or White-tailed Bumblebee.
Half a dozen Redwings flew over the flat this morning,
and a party of Long-tailed Tits were in the front garden. At the station, a group of 9 Starlings
were on telegraph wires and there were 6 Woodpigeons and 2 Collared Doves also at the station
with a Grey Squirrel nearby.
A Jay was in a tree in the grounds of St Matthews
Church, Cotham this afternoon. 
| | Female Chaffinch |
17 Dec In Montpelier Park this morning there were 2 Jays
and a Magpie chasing each other through the trees, 6 Woodpigeons, a singing Coal
Tit and a couple of female Chaffinches. The station produced several Collared
Doves plus Blue and Great Tits near the feeders. A Blackbird shuffled
and tossed leaves looking for invertebrates, while a Robin sat on a branch just above him, trying to look
nonchalant but really watching for any insects he disturbed!
16 Dec Despite the gloomy and rather
uninspiring conditions this morning, St Pauls Park really delivered the goods, with the first Chiffchaff
of the winter feeding in the branches of the mature trees in the corner. Also in the park were a couple of Great Tits,
a Blue Tit, a very tame Robin, 6 Blackbirds, a conspicuous Wren,
2 Dunnocks, 3 Greenfinches, 6 Goldfinches and fly-over Herring
Gull, Pied Wagtail and Collared Dove.
| | Heron at Barnes WWT Reserve |
14 Dec
I had an awayday to Barnes WWT Centre in London - some good wildfowl around, and this Grey Heron posed nicely!
13 Dec There are now at least two Blackcaps in the garden - both male and female today.
As seems to be typical of this species, they were chasing other birds all over the place! Also in and around the garden were
a couple of Blue Tits, a party of Long-tailed Tits, a Magpie (studiously
turning over patches of moss on the roof tiles to look for food) about 5 Woodpigeons, a Blackbird
and the flock of Starlings I saw yesterday. A Jay flew over the flat.
Elsewhere
there were more Jays in St Andrews Park and the bottom of Station Road, and both locations also produced
singing Goldfinches and feeding Robins. Amazingly, another Mistle Thrush
was heard singing today - coming from the direction of Montpelier Park and heard from my flat window!
| | Mistle Thrush |
12 Dec A
delightful flock of about 20 Starlings around the garden this morning. Last year they arrived in October,
the year before November - I really wonder if these are the same birds, possibly from Eastern Europe? It just seems strange
that the same number of birds and location are involved every time. Another good bird today was a Mistle Thrush
perched in a tree at Old Ashley Hill - I'm seeing more of these; have I overlooked them before now or are they increasing?
Questions questions. Nearby was a party of Long-tailed Tits.
A Chaffinch, a couple
of Greenfinches and a Robin were all feeding on seeds on the roof of the park-keepers'
huts in St Andrews Park at lunchtime, while good numbers of Starlings and a couple of Great
Tits were feeding in the trees nearby.
| | Starling |
10 Dec A
great selection of birds on a beautiful winter's morning. In Montpelier Park 2 Goldcrests were chasing
each other through the branches of the small trees and a Coal Tit gave cracking views as it fed nearby. Two
Jays, a couple of Chaffinches, a Robin, a Pied Wagtail
and a Blue Tit were also seen and heard as well as a Grey Squirrel.
I was delighted
to hear a Mistle Thrush singing in Portland Square and I watched as it delivered its notes from the top branches
of a tree - not a common bird any more. In St Pauls Park, additional birds to those already seen included Goldfinch,
Greenfinch and Great Tit. 
| | Four of seven Woodpigeons! |
9 Dec Outside
my window this morning I saw 7 Woodpigeons feeding on ivy berries. The usual birds were at the station including
the dependable Long-tailed Tits.
In the kitchen this evening there was a 'Tortrix' moth
- possibly a Light Brown Apple Moth - it is a native of Australia and was introduced into Cornwall in the
1930s. 
| | 'Tortrix' Moth |
8 Dec A
quick look round Montpelier Park didn't produce much other than a Chaffinch or two, a Grey
Squirrel and a Pied Wagtail which flew into one of the mature trees - always seems strange to see
a bird we normally associate with running along the ground actually up a tree!
In St Pauls Park, 2 Goldfinches,
a Blue Tit and a single Starling were feeding in the high branches of a tree and Woodpigeon
and 3 Blackbirds were nearby.
6 Dec Right on cue, the first Blackcap of
the winter - a female -appeared in the garden. Last year the first garden sighting was 7th December! Today's individual might
have been the one I heard a week or so ago in St Andrews Road and has probably come all the way from Germany. Blackcaps have
recently been in the news. A Blackbird was sub-singing in Richmond Road, and there were no less than 3 Grey Squirrels
near the feeders on the station along with most of the birds seen yesterday.
5 Dec A bright
morning but rainy afternoon. That Montpelier rarity, a Mistle Thrush, alighted briefly on the top of a pine
tree in Old Ashley Hill and nearby in Fairlawn Road there seemed to be a marked influx of Blackbirds,
they seemed everywhere. At St Andrews Road and the station there were parties of Long-tailed, Great
and Blue Tits, and a Sparrowhawk flew over the latter location, setting off the House
Sparrow flock into excited alarm calls. The footbridge over the station was a great spot to watch a succession of
birds feeding just below in the low branches - Dunnock, Chaffinch, Robin and
Wren among them. A Grey Wagtail flew over the station and the regular Woodpigeons
and Collared Doves were joined by a Grey Squirrel near the feeders.
4 Dec Another sunny morning, but as I had little time to hang around I didn't
see much except for some Long-tailed Tits and a Pied Wagtail in Montpelier Park and 3 Goldfinches
feeding on seeds plus 3 male Chaffinches in St Pauls Park.
| | Fox (courtesy St Werburghs website/Harrymac) |
2 Dec A nice collection of common birds in Montpelier Park this morning - a singing Goldcrest
and Coal Tit (the latter also giving good views) were joined by a couple of Blackbirds,
2 or 3 Blue Tits, similar numbers of Great Tits, a party of Long-tailed Tits,
a couple of Robins, a Dunnock, 6 Chaffinches, 2 Carrion Crows,
a Wren (sat in a buddleia bush) and two Magpies, while a Pied Wagtail
fed on the scruffy area at the back of the park.
In St Pauls Park a Herring Gull, 3 Woodpigeons
and a Grey Squirrel were additions to the morning's wildlife list.
Harry in
St Werburghs saw three Foxes on Monday. See the St Werburghs forum here.
| | Possible Hygrocybe fungus |
1 Dec A
frosty and sunny morning. At St Pauls Park there were a couple of Blue Tits and a female Chaffinch
feeding in the trees, plus a few Greenfinches and a Goldfinch flying over. A single Starling
was in a tree just outside the park before flying off.
Some fungi in the park looked a little like one
of the Wax Cap (Hygrocybe) family which is, I think, the same species as the fungi I saw in St Andrews
Road a week or two back.
|
